River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1887-12-08
euRoETTE ON INSOMNIA.
A Few Standard Methods of Counting Ma
lures sweet Resto-er.

A Few standard Methods of Counting Ma
lures sweet Resto-er.
What pleases me, when | am tor
mented with sleeplessness. is little
health book of my own. in which have
iotted down a few--a very few-of the
''infallible remedies for sleeplessness
which have been tried in thousands
or perhaps it was millions-of cases.
most of which were in the subscriber
own immediate family. or. at the
farthest circle of intimate friends. and
had never once failed 10 effect a per-
manent, and it is needless to say. in
slant cure. All OF these cases collect
lively and each one by itself individu-
ally were and was exactly lik o my own
in cause. duration and operation. The
simplicity of the combined remedy APP
peals at once to human confidence.
Eat nothing within three hours be-
fore retiring.
Eat light but substantial luncheon
Just before going to bed. Nature alb
hors a vacuum. (This is one of the
prescriptions like.)
Read light literature before going to
bed.
Read nothing after supper Walk a
mile in the open air just before bed
time.
Go TO your room an hour before re-
firing and read until bedtime. Give
up smoking altogether.
If you are a smoker. cigar just be-
fure retiring will soothe and tranquil
ize your nerves until you can't keep
awake.
Don't think about sleeping; you
scare away slumber by wooing the
drowsy god.
Rssolutely resolve as you lie down
that you will go to sleep. and sleep
will come naturally.
Take u warm bath. and go from the
tub into bed.
Take cold sponge bath. jump into
bed. and you'll be asleep before your
head touches the pillow.
Walk slowly about your room half
an hour.
Lie on your right side, with your
cheek on your hand.
Lie on your left side, with your head
resting on your arm.
Count up to one thousand. Il tried
this inhuman bit of idiocy one night.
came very near falling asleep two or
three times, but was startled wide
awake by suddenly becoming con-
scious that l had lost my count, and
had to begin over again. This care
kept me awake one whole night, when
/ was so sleepy l could scarcely hold
my eyes open. The friend who gave
me this prescription is not living now.
She was a woman, and / could not, rs
a gentleman. offer her violence. So
dosed box of marshmellows with
death to rats. and sent them to her)
Drink milk. (This, according to my
experience is the best prescription in
the lot. 1t will make you sleep better
than all the bromides going, which
are snares and delusions. But milk
diet not only makes you sleep at night,
but you want to sleep all the next day.
1t makes you intolerablv stupid all
the time. 1t is very pleasant. half
awake feeling, if you have nothing else
to do but to enjoy falling asleep at any
time and in all manner of places. like
Colville in the best told story of these
times 'Indian SUMMER but if you
have any work TO do it is embarrass-
ing).
So. what is sleepless man who
wants TO sleep, going to do? If he
eats light luncheon. smokes q mild
cigar. reads Bonner an hour. walks n
mile in the air, comes back and walks
another mile about his room. takes a
sponge bath. cold. followed by tub
bath. warm. drinks a pint of milk.
jumps into bed. and lies on both sides,
with his head on one arm and one
hand and counts a thousand, it will
be time to get up anyhow. and he can
have few nervous fits during the
day.
1t is a fact, however, that even men
who think they suffer from sleepless-
ness do not lie awake half so long as
they imagine they do. When a man
says to me: II did not close my eyes
once all night" know he lies. Not
Intentionally. of course. H thinks he
was awake all night; the probability
is that he did not get TO sleep until
two hours after his regular time. and
it seemed an age to him. Really. it
isn't often that man lies awake the
whole night through. / am not
physician, and can not speak by the
hook, but l believe that men fib about
heir sleepless nights more than any
other i'll TO which our weak humani-
ty is heir Now. take your own case;
you remember the last time you lay
awake all night. don't youP Yes,
see you do. Well, don't you remem-
Der that same night you heard the
clock strike two, and then the next
lime you heard it, /. struck seven?
Yes? see you do. Well. that's one
If the mysteries about insomnia that
is difficult to exp ain. Robert J. Bur-
dette, IN DeS MOtRey ReQister.